Airplane



June 2, 1942. J. L. HOSFORD 2,

AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet l H N m 3 x o \l m Inventor Jain Lerfer Hasfiww/ A iiomey W June 1942- J. L. HOSFORD I AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 J56?! I Lesfer flasford A iiorne y J. L. HOSFORD AIRPLANE June 2, 1942.

Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor (70571 1.9372 7 03 {Ev-J Attorney June 2, 1942. J R 2,284,902

AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 M I Inventor.

Jab Lesfer l /asfa-rd A itorney June 2; 1942. OSF R 2,284,902

AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Jab?! Le s/er //osfa?d J1me J. L. HOSFORD 8 02 AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 21, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 In ventor 16: 1/011 esfer #osf'ard I A iiorne y Patented June 2, 1942 UNITED sTA ss PATENT oFF cs John Lester Hoatord, BoonvilleJIo. Application summer 21. 1940, Serial No. states -90laims. ((31.244-7) This invention relates to an airplane, the general object of the invention being to provide 7 means whereby the propellers can be moved to a vertical position to lift the plane oi! the ground and to cause it to hover in the air and to move the propellers to a horizontal position for causing the plane to travel through the air in the ordinary manner, with means for automatically increasing the pitch of the propeller blades when they are moved from a vertical position to a horizontal position and to decrease the pitch of the blades when they are moved from a horizontal position to a vertical position. a

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automatically moving the rear part of the fuselage forwardly when the propellers are in vertical position and to move said rear portion rearwardly when the propellers are in horizontal position so that said rear portion acts as counterbalance means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a blower system for maneuvering the plane at low and zero speed and while the propellers are in vertical position.

Another object of the invention is to provide automatic control means for controlling the pitch of theblades and the position of the ailerons, with means whereby each means can be actuated manually. i i

This inventionalso consists features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts tobe here- I inafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. i

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or correspondin parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a plane constructed in accordance with this invention and with the blades in horizontal or pulling position. Figure 2 is an elevational view of the plane with the propellers in horizontal or pulling position in full lines and in vertical position or lifting position in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional the plane with parts in plan.

Figure 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view showing the outlet means and valve meansfor the blower system.

Figure 5 is a front view of the control means. Figure 5a is a detail view showing the latch for the lever.

view through Figure 6 isan elevational view of the plane 55 forming part of the frame structure of each wing in certain other with the propellers in vertical or lifting position and with the rear part in its iorward or contracted position.

Flsure 7 is a vertical sectional view through the front part of the fuselage showing the main motor and an auxiliary motor for operating the blower system and showing some of the shafts.

Figure 8 is an elevational view of the supporting structure for the propeller with some of the parts associated therewith.

Figure 9 is a sectional view through the cap with parts in elevation.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view through the outer end of the supporting structure and showing how the propellers are carried by the supporting structure and this view also showing the means for changing the pitch of the propeller. a Y

Figure 11 is .a longitudinal sectional view through the supporting .structure and showing the operating means.

Figure 12 is a view looking toward the. free end of the supporting structure and also showing portions of the propeller blades.

I Figure 13 is a horizontal sectional view through a wing portion with parts in plan and this view showing how an aileron is operated by the invention.

Figure 14 is a vertical sectional view through a wing and its aileron. 1

Figure 15 is a detail sectional view showing how the propellers are connected with the shaft.

Figure 16 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing how one end of the shaft is connected tothe blade by anti-friction and thrust bearings.

Figure 17 is a detail view showing how a gear box can be adjusted to take up wear of the gears.

In these lviews the numeral I indicates the fuselage of the plane and the numeral 2 the wings thereof and the numeral 3 indicates the landing gear which may be provided with the hydraulic shock absorbers 4. The rear part i of portion is provided with the trunnions II which are rotatably arranged in bearing members I! from the base structure and carries the anti-friction means I4 at its ends for the rotary shaft II which extends through the member and has a large beveled gear I attached to its lower end which is arranged in the casing Ill and at the other end the shaft has attached thereto the central part of a beam or shaft I! which carries the propeller blades ll. End portions of the shaft or beam I! extend into the blades, as shown more particularly in Figures and 16 and anti-friction bearings Hill are located between parts of the shaft or beam l1 and the inner reduced ends IQ of the blade and the ends of the shaft I! are connected with intermediate portions of the blades through means of the thrust bearings IOI and the nuts I02 threaded on the ends of the shaft II,

the thrust bearings engaging the shoulders I" formed in the blades and anti-friction bearings I44 are located between these shoulders forming portions of the blades and end portions of the shaft I! as shown in Figure 16. A suitable opening may be formed in each blade to gain access to the bearings and nuts and this opening is closed by a countersunk plate, as shown in dotted lines at llll in Figure 15. The inner ends of the blades pass through the tubular parts 20 formed on a rotary cap 2| which is connected with the hub assembly by the bracket means HIS, see Figme 11, so that this cap will rotate with the shafts II and I! and said cap has a part 2| rotating on a section 9| of the housing II which is supported from the base parts It by the bars 92, said housing enclosing the rotary parts of the structure. oppositely extending arms 22 are connected with the inner ends of the blades. Links 23 connect the outer ends of these arms with the ears 24 on a sectional channel-shaped ring member 25 which is connected by the anti-friction means at the outer end of a tubular member 21 which surrounds the member I: and is supported for sliding movement on said member H, a collar 28 being formed on the member 21 for fitting in the ring with the anti-friction means receiving the collar between them. Thus, sliding movement of the member 21 will cause the ring member to impart a rocking movement to the arms 2: through links 23 so as to rock the arms 22 and thus change the pitch of the propeller blades.

A member III of substantially yoke-shape is slidably supported on the propeller hub assembly and has its limbs connected with the ring 25 so as to cause the ring to rotate as the hub assembly with the blades are rotated by the shaft ll. Thlsmember 34 takes the strain of! the links 23. The member 21 is adjusted on the member I: to change the pitch of the propeller blades as will be hereinafter described.

A main drive shaft 32 is suitably supported in the fuselage and the wing structure and has its ends passing through the casings of the two propeller structures A and a beveled gear 33 is connected to each end portion within the casing Ill and meshes with the large beveled gear I. A stub shaft 34 passes through the outer trunnion Hand is of hollow construction to receive an end portion of the shaft 32 and a beveled gear 35 is attached to the inner end of the shaft 34 and meshes with the gear I and the extremity of the shaft 32 passes into a gear box 34 adjustably connected to the adjacent trunnion II and the hollow shaft 34 extends into the box and has a beveled gear 31 thereon which meshes with the a,se4,oos and an elongated cylindrical member It extends movement in the box and these idling gears or pinions also mesh with a beveled pinion 4| on the end of the shaft 32. This arrangement causes the gear 48 on the inner end of the shaft 34 to rotate in an opposite direction from the direction of rotation of the pinion 33 so that the pinion a and the pinion 35 both act to drive the shaft ll through means of the gear l4 and this arrangement also balances the driving assembly. The box a is adjustably connected to the adjacent trunnion II by being fastened to a plate I" which has slots I therein for receiving the bolts III which pass through a plate 0, this plate being fastened in any suitable manner to the outer end of the adjacent trunnion H and has a sleeve part fitting over a tubular portion of the bearing 12. A bolt 4! is carried by an ear on the plate I and engages an ear on the plate I" so that by adjusting this bolt 4|, after the bolts I have been loosened the box can be partly rotated on the plate Ill and then the bolts Ill are tightened to hold the box in adjusted position. This adjustment of the box It provides means for taking up wear of thegears in the box.

A main motor M is suitably supported in the fuselage and a free-wheeling transmission means shown generally at 42 transmits the movement of the motor to the shaft 32 so that the shaft can be driven at diflerent speeds to rotate the two sets of propeller blades at desired speeds and this free-wheeling device allows the shaft 31 and all parts driven therefrom, to idle if the main motor should fail to function for any reason. This is desirable for an automatic landing with a dead motor. As will be seen the end portions of the shaft 32 pass through the trunnions of the gear casings II and through the casings so that the two propeller structures A can rotate through means of the trunnions ll engaging the bearings l2 without interfering with the drive means between the shaft 32 and shaft 15.

A sector-shaped stationary tooth member 42 is connected to each of the gear casings II, the teeth of which mesh with a large gear 43 on a shaft 44 supported in the frame 45 in each wing structure so that by rotating the gears 43 the two wins structures can be moved from a vertical position to liftthe plane, to a horizontal position for propelling the plane in a forward direction and vice versa, the wing structure having a slot therein for permitting movement of each propeller structure A in this manner. Gears 46 are connected with the ends of the gears 43 and these gears 46 are connected with the pinions 41 of a shaft 48 joumaled in the frame 45 and this shaft 48 is connected by the gears 49 with a shaft 54 suitably supported in the wing structures and the beveled pinions or'gears a supported for idling 7s fuselage and being connected with a similar gearing arrangement for the other wing structure. Within the fuselage the shaft 50 is connected by the beveled gears 5| with the rearwardly extending shafts I2 rotatably supported in the fuselage and having their rear portions screwthreaded as shown at 53 to engage nut members 54 attached to the inner or front end of the tail member i, these parts being so .arranged that as the shaft I is turned to move the propeller structures A into horizontal position the shafts 52 are turned to move the tail structure rearwardly so as to counter-balance the forward movement of the propeller structures. When the shaft 50 is turned in an opposite direction to raise the propeller structures the shafts 52 will move the tail structure forwardly so that the peller structures are in this. position. Control shafts, not shown, for therudders and elevators must be made telescopic to permit this forward and rearward movement of the tail structures.

Motors M are provided in the wing structures for driving the shaft 59 and other motors M" are provided in the fuselage and are geared with the shafts 52 to help the motors M'drive the parts and these motors are preferably electric ones and are timed to operate in unison and can be controlled manually by a master switch or by hand wheel L in Figure 3, or by automatic governor controls not shown, in case the pilot has heart failure.

The inner bearing I 2 has an eccentric 55 thereon and an eccentric ring 56 surrounds the nected by m l n to a bracket l n in the ailerons 66 of the wing as shown more particularly in Figures 13 and 14. The ailerons are, therefore,

adjusted by longitudinal movement of the shaft 63 and this adjustment occurs 'at the'same time the pitch of the propellerblades are adjusted by longitudinal movement of the shaft 63.

As shown in Figure 5a hand-wheel 69 is attached to the shaft 69 in the fuselage so that eccentric 55 and has a shank 51 extending there from. Ayoke-shaped lever 58 has its arms passing on opposite sides of the inner portion of the member I3 with the extremities of these arms pivoted to ears 59' attached to a part of the casing Ill. The other end of the yoke member 56 has a projection 56' m an intermediate portion of which the projection 51 of the eccentric ring is pivoted while an L-shaped lever 59 is pivoted to the extremity of this part 58 as shown at 60. The inner and short arm of the lever 59 is connected by a link 6| with an car 62 on the member 21 so that when the lever 59 is tilted on its pivot 60 the link 6| causes the mempeller blades a before stated. Also,'when the propeller supporting structure A is swung from a vertical position to a horizontal position the eccentric means 56 and 51 rotating on the stationary eccentric 55- will cause these eccentric parts to move the yoke 58 which through the lever 59 and the link 6| also move the member 21 which results in increasing the pitch of the propeller blades but when the propeller supporting structure is moved to vertical position then the eccentric parts actuate the member 21 to decrease the pitch of the propeller blades.

As will be seen the change of pitch of the propeller blades is automatically performed by the raising or lowering of the propeller supporting structures.

A shaft 63 is supported for sliding and rotary movement in the plane and has a threaded hub 64 adjacent each end thereof which is engaged by a nut member or block 65 which fits in the slots 66 formed in the two arms of the lever 59 which is of U-shape as shown in Figure 8. This slot is slightly arcuate so that it will permit movement of the lever 59 under the action of the eccentric means without interference from the nut member 65 and the threaded part 54. However, when the shaft 63 is rotated to turn the threaded part 64 the block or nut-member willbe moved in one direction or the other and thus move the lever 59 to change the pitch of the propeller blades.

One hub 64 is provided with right threads and the other with the left threads.

A lever 61 is pivoted at one end to a part of a wing structure as shown at 61' and this lever is rocked by longitudinal movement of the shaft 63 through means of the collars 63' on the shaft 63 and said lever is connected to one end of a link I I5, the other end of the link being connected to a bellcrank H6 pivoted in the outer end of the wing structure and said bellcrank being conthe shaft can be turned to adjust the lever 59 by turning the hubs and a sleeve 19 is held on a part of the shaft 63 by the collars 'l l. bar 12 is pivoted at 19 to a frame 14 in the fuselage, see Figure 5, and the lower end of a lever 15 has a pin 15 projecting therefrom whichis located between th upwardly extending ears 11 at the center of the level bar I2. An intermediate part of the lever 15 is pinned to the sleeve 16 as shown at 18 and a hand wheel 19 is connected to the upper end of the lever 15 and has a gear I5 thereon operated on tooth sector 89 at the top of frame 14. A latch 19' is provided 'mercury can pass readily from one cylinder to the other. A hollow metal float 83 is arranged in each cylinder and has-its rod 84 passing from the top of the cylinderand pivoted to the level bar 12 as shown in Figure 5 and the lower end of the rod extends below the float through guide 81 to prevent any friction between the float and the wall of the wells or cylinders. As will be seen the shaft 63can be rotated to adjust the propeller pitch by the wheel 69 and when adjusted the parts will remain in this position though they can be temporarily adjusted from this first position by the hand lever I5 which also operates the ailerons, as shown, and the mercury wells or cylinders with the level bar will automatically keep the parts in constant adjustment as is necessary to keep the plane level.-

As will'be seen, by sliding movement of shaft 63 by lever 15 adds pitch to one propeller and lessens the pitch of the other propeller so that any time either wing is lower than the other, the propeller on that wing increases its pitch and decreases the pitch of the propeller on the high wing for the'mercury in the wells will try to remain level and thus the level bar 12 will operate the parts to keep the plane'on an even keel.

In order to maneuver the'plane when hovering, a compressor 66 is arranged in the fuselage and is driven by a motor 91 and conduits 89 lead the air from the compressor to the forks 69 which are located inthe intermediate part of the wings of the plane. As shown in Figures 3 and 4 one fork extends through the front edge of a wing and the other fork through the rear edge thereof and a valve 96 is arranged in the junction of the forks with the straight part of the conduit so that this valve can be adjusted to cause the air to divide and pass through both forks or it can be adjusted to cause all the air a circuit, governor controlled, so that they will A level automatically move the propeller structures from a horizontal position to a vertical positionin case the main motor ceases to function or a forced landing is necessary. Otherwise it is lauded as desired by the pilot.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a plane which is provided with propeller structures which can be moved to horizontal position when the-plane is to be raised or landed in a small field or is to hover in the air, with means for automatically moving the tail part of the fuse- .lage forwardly or rearwardly to keep the balance of the plane as the propeller structures are changed from one position to the other, and also to provide means for automatically increasing the pitch of the propellers when they are moved to horizontal position. Also the automatic controls which include the mercury wells will keep the plane under control as it controls both the propeller pitch and the ailerons at the same time.

It is thoughtfrom the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A propeller supporting structure pivotally supported at one end in'a part of a plane for movement from a horizontal position to a vertical position and vice versa, means for turning said structure from one position to the other, a propeller carried by the structure, means for rotating the propeller, a contractible and expansible tail portion and means operatively connected to the means for 'moving the structure from one position to the other, for contracting the tail portion when the propeller structure is raised to vertical position and to expand the tail portion when the propeller structure is moved to horizontal position, whereby the tail structure acts as balance means.

2. An airplane of the class described comprising a propeller supporting structure having one end supported for turning movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position, means for turning said structure from one position to the other, propeller blades carried by the structure, means for revolving the blades and automatic means for changing the pitch of the blades as the supporting structure is moved from one position to the other, said plane including a fuselage having a telescopic tail portion and automatic means, operatively connected to the means for turning said structure from one position to the other, for moving the tail portion forwardly when the propeller structure is moved to vertical position and for moving the tail structure rearwardly when the propeller structure is moved to horizontal position.

3. An airplane of the class described comprising a propeller supporting structure having one end supported for turning movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position, means for turning said structure from one position to the other, propeller blades carried by the structure, means for revolving the blades and automatic means for changing the pitch of the blades as the supporting structure is moved from one position to the other, said airplane including ailerons and manually operated means for changing the pitch of the propeller blades and at the same time adjusting the ailerons.

4. In an airplane including a fuselage and a wing structure, propeller. supporting structures supported for movement in the wing structure from a vertical position to a horizontal position, means for adjusting the propeller structures in unison from one position to the other, automatic means for changing the pitch of the propeller blades as the structures are moved from one position to the other, a telescopic tail structure and means operatively connected to the means for adJusting the structures, for movpropeller blades as the structures are moved from one position to the other, a telescopic tail structure and means, operatively connected to the means .for adjusting the propeller structures, for moving the tail structure forwardly when the propeller structures are in vertical position and for moving the tail structure rearwardly when the propeller structures are moved to horizontal position, manually controlled means for adjusting the pitch of the propeller blades independently of the automatic means, said means including mercury wells, a level bar, floats connected with the ends of the level bar extending into the wells andmeans for connecting the wells together.

6. In an airplane including a fuselage and a wing structure and ailerons on the Wing structure, propeller supporting structures supported for movement in the wing structure from a vertical position to a horizontal position, means for adjusting the propeller structures in unison from one position to the other, automatic means for changing the pitch of the propeller blades as the structures are moved from one position to the other, a telescopic tail structure and means, operatively connected to the means for adjusting the propeller structures, for moving the tail structure forwardly when the propeller structures are in vertical position and for moving the tail structure rearwardly when the'propeller structures are moved to horizontal position, and means including a shaft, manually operated means for moving the shaft longitudinally, means for rotating the shaft, lever means forming part of the pitch changing means, means for moving the lever means when either the shaft is rotated or moved longitudinally, and means connected with the lever means for operating the ailerons.

7. In an airplane, a propeller structure supported at one end for movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position and vice versa, propeller blades carried by the structure, means for rotating the blades and means for changing the pitch of the blades automatically when the structure is moved from one position to the other, said means including an eccentric actuated by turning movement of the structure, a lever actuated by the eccentric, means actuated by movement of the lever for changing the pitch of the blades, a shaft supported for rotary and longiaasaeoa tudinal movement and said shaft havin a threaded part, a nut threaded on the threaded part and a lever having a slot therein through which the nut member passes whereby the lever is moved by rotary movement of the shaft and also by longitudinal movement of the shaft.

8. In an airplane including a fuselage and a wing structure, propeller supporting structures supported for movement in the wing structure from vertical position to horizontal position and for rotating the shaft, manual means for moving the shaft longitudinally and automatic means for moving the shaft longitudinally when the plane tilts toward one side or the other, whereby the plane is maintained at an even keel.

9. In an airplane, propeller structures supported for movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position, propeller blades carried vice versa, means for adjusting the propeller structures in unison from one position to the other, automatic means for changing the pitch of the propeller blades as the structures are moved from one position to the other, means for rotating the propellers, a shaft supported for sliding and rotary movement, means actuated by sliding movement of the shaft for adjusting the ailerons, means actuated by sliding movement of the shaft for changing the pitch or the blades, said means moving the blades of the two structures in opposite directions, manual means by the structures, means for rotating the blades, means for adjusting the structures'from a horizontal to a. vertical position and vice versa, air producing means in the fuselage, conduits leading therefrom into the wing structures of the plane, a tubular fork member in each wing structure, one fork extending through the front of the wing and the other through the rear of the wing, said forked structures being connected with the conduits for receiving the air therefrom and valve means for directing the air into either fork or both forks.-

JOHN LESTER HOSFORD. 

